Correctional Work Release Program in Israel: How Effective Is It?

• In Event: Employment Focused Programs and Prisoner Reentry

Abstract

One of the leading programs in the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) is the “Group Rehabilitation” program. The main goal of this program is to create a bridge in the transition of prisoners from prison life to community life by encouraging integration of work outside prison walls during their incarceration. In order to examine the impacts of this program, Israeli prisoners who were imprisoned between the years 2004 and 2012 were sampled (N=65,893). In order to match the prisoners who took part in the program to those who did not take part, a propensity score matching method was used. The analysis is based on a comparison of recidivism, examined as rearrests and re-imprisonment between the group rehabilitation sample and the matched control sample. The findings indicate that the percentages of recidivism, both for re-incarceration and rearrests, of those in the group rehabilitation program are significantly lower throughout the entire period examined in comparison to those who did not participate in the program. In concluding, we suggest reasons why the Israeli version of this program is successful in reducing recidivism when many work release programs in other countries are not found successful.

Authors

• Badi Hasisi, Hebrew University

• David Weisburd, George Mason University / Hebrew University

• Gali Aviv, Hebrew University

• Efrat Shoham, Ashkelon Academic College

• Kathrine Ben-Zvi, Hebrew University